It's All About the Music, Rachel Yamagata. Grammy Week 2015 Edition.

By Laura Medina

Sure, Hollywood is awash in music tributes as such as "For the Love of Whitney" at The Attic, The Grammy Producers' & Engineers' division honoring the legendary Nile Rodgers, and spotlighting up & coming new comers, like Aloe Blacc singing his heart at Citi Bank Grammy party at The Nice Guy.

But, let's focus on the new vanguard that Nile Rodgers said is needed to keep the music industry alive, such as Rachel Yamagata.

Way, way back in November at the Trobadour in West Hollywood,  Rachel sang her heart out to a packed house about failed relationships and passing friendships, that are quite normal in life.

In fact, she's carrying on the Trobadour's singer-songwriter tradition initiated by Carole King and Joni Mitchell.  Increasingly rare in a music industry filled with auto-tuned pop singers.  Rachel is the stillness among the noise.

Rachel Yamagata may not the be biggest name in the industry but she is a steady force.  You wouldn't recognize her name but her songs will ring a bell.

In April 2009, Yamagata performed her song Elephants on the television drama One Life to Live.^[7]

^{If you're a Gen-Yer, or even a Gen-Xer like this scribe, her songs will ring a bell, her songs have appeared on the TV shows The L Word, Charmed, How I Met Your Mother, ER , Nip/Tuck, Men in Trees, Alias, One Tree Hill, Los Serrano, Brothers & Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and The O.C.}

^{Like the Black Keys and Aloe Blacc, these new crop of musicians don't mind providing soundtracks to mainstream shows and ads.  They know, in this download age, this is one of major ways to have the greater world hear and know your music;...and it pays tons.}

Yamagata also performs with an ensemble cast on the 30 Rock episode "Kidney Now!"^[11] The soundtrack for the film Dear John features the song "You Take My Troubles Away", Yamagata's duet with Dan Wilson. She also performs the Muppets song I'm Going to Go Back There Someday on a cover album, Muppets: The Green Album.^[12]

^{If you are lucky enough to have Rachel Yamagata touring your city; and you are a true music fan who wants to hear and experience real singing, real lyrics, and real musicianship on the piano, like a true singer-songwriter, go!}

^{Go catch Rachel live in person!}